A lifelong politician, Kohl became chancellor of West Germany in 1982 and served until 1990, then became chancellor of Germany after the country unified following the fall of communist rule in the eastern part of the nation. He was Germany’s longest serving post-war chancellor.

Kohl was also a driving force in the formation of the European Union and the creation of the euro.

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Former President George H.W. Bush said in a statement that he and his wife Barbara “mourn the loss of a true friend of freedom, and the man I consider one of the greatest leaders in post-War Europe.”

“Working closely with my very good friend to help achieve a peaceful end to the Cold War and the unification of Germany within NATO will remain one of the great joys of my life,” he added. “Helmut was a rock.”

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Bush once referred to Kohl as the most important European leader of the late 20th century.

Kohl, in his memoirs, described Bush as “the most important ally on the road to German unity.”

Former President Bill Clinton sent a message of remembrance via Twitter.

Helmut Kohl’s visionary leadership prepared Germany and all of Europe for the 21st century. https://t.co/ltdamqIgt5

Kohl’s political legacy was tarnished by scandal. In 1999, he admitted to illegally accepting more than $1 million in anonymous political donations between 1993-1998. The admission spurred an investigation in 2000 that was dropped a year later when Kohl agreed to pay a fine of $142,000.

Kohl had suffered from a number of medical issues in recent years, including a stroke in 2008 after a fall that caused a head injury. The stroke left him in a wheelchair with partial paralysis and impaired speech. He underwent heart surgery in 2012 and had complications from hip-replacement surgery in 2015.

In Brussels, European flags were lowered to half-mast in tribute to Kohl.

One European leader said that going forward, the European Union must remember Kohl’s dedication to the EU.

“We have lost a great leader, above all a European with vision and courage,” Italian EU affairs minister Sandro Gozi said via Twitter. “We missed him and we will miss him. We must follow his example to relaunch the EU.”